Catching the Snitch
by Amelia Jean Mannequin
Summary: "It is the delicate art of playing hard to get, my dear friend." Sirius gives James Qudditch themed-advice on how to attract girls. One shot.


**Author's Note: Please Review! I know it is a one-shot, but reviews are still lovely!**

**Disclaimer: Proper nouns belong to J. K. Rowling. **

Catching the Snitch

Feeling the emerald green eyes on him shyly from across the room, James grinned lazily and reached out to catch the Snitch. Wormtail applauded with unhealthy pleasure, as he always did, but it was her approval he sought. Glancing casually across the firelight chamber that was the Gryffindor common room, he was disappointed to see that she had returned to chatting with her friend, pretending she had been paying him no mind.

It was so easy, so simple. All he had to do was reach out and grab the hovering Snitch, which was already weak with the effort of being chased so often. "Too bad catching everything isn't that simple," he murmured vaguely to himself. Remus glanced up from his book and smiled sympathetically, but remained silent. Sirius, however, seemed to be incapable of sparing any emotion for his best friend's declaration. A motionless image of a motorcycle flashed in the firelight as he flipped through his magazine with a bored expression.

"Well mate," Sirius said with sarcastic enthusiasm, closing the magazine after several minutes, "It seems you have finally found an audience, besides Wormtail. Ol' Green Eyes seems to be looking over here a fair bit."

James grinned back at him, glad that someone else had noticed the attention as well. "Sixth year's a charm?" Remus murmured from behind the large Transfiguration book they all should have been reading.

"Ahh, well, she certainly is charming," James replied cheerfully. "And I do believe I fancy a chat with her," he added as he jumped to his feet.

"No!" Sirius practically shouted, seizing his friend's wrist. The Snitch enclosed in James' hand fluttered feebly. "Poor bloke doesn't know anything about the ladies," he added in a fake stage whisper to the other two, sighing with extreme exasperation. "Let me put this into terms your simple jock mind can understand."

James sat back down and awaited further instruction, expression bemused.

"When you practice catching that dumb thing," Sirius began, pointing to the golden ball, "You chase after it for a long, long time. Then, if you have a shred of talent, you can catch it. But since it is just a practice session, the game must continue. So, you let it go for a little bit, but then it becomes easier to catch it again because you know how it works. So it is with Evans. You chased her, you caught her attention, and now you have to back down a bit. When she least expects it, you go back and get her again. It is the delicate art of playing hard to get, my dear friend."

James and Peter stared at their friend, mouths agape. Even Remus had lowered his book in shock. "Wow Padfoot…I was not aware you had the mental capacity to create such an analogy," Remus said, with a pleasant tone of surprise.

"Impressive indeed. I didn't know you had it in you to imagine a relationship beyond pure snogging," James added supportively, tapping Peter's chin to close his still-hanging mouth. "Close your mouth Wormtail, you'll catch flies."

James sauntered off to his dormitory a few moments later, ignoring Lily's attempt at eye contact, but turning to drop a quick wink to his friends. Sirius sidled up next to him quickly and added in an undertone, "Don't wait too long to catch that Snitch. They have flesh memories, you know."

"And why should that matter?" James asked curiously.

"They will always remember the first person to _touch_ them," he replied with a raucous wink, sprinting up the staircase to avoid his friend's wrath.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As he stared into the emerald orbs, surrounded by red silk hair and white lace, he knew that he had never felt happier in his life. When he murmured, "I do," and pulled her in for a tender kiss, he knew the match was finally over. He had caught the Snitch; he had won the game at last.

"150 to nil, Gryffindor beats Slytherin," Sirius muttered to Remus with a grin. Remus' mouth twitched, but he shot the best man a reprimanding glare. It was not the day to bring up childhood grudges, not when the couple was so happy and calm.

Everybody celebrated the winning of the game that night.

And just for that one night, it was easy to forget what was coming. It was easy to forget that a more dangerous match with a more lethal opponent was approaching.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

James yawned as he threw his wand onto the worn couch carelessly. _The worn couch of __**our**__ living room,_ he though with a smile, still surprised every day by his luck.

In those days, everybody was trained as a Seeker. A wand must be ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice, and being left on pieces of furniture in another room was generally disapproved of.

But it was Halloween, they had the best protection possible, and they had survived the old creep three other times before.

_Besides,_ James thought with a smirk as he stepped into the hallway, leaving his wand behind, _Potters are like Snitches. We are hard to catch. _

But sometimes, the Snitch gets caught.

And when it is caught, the game ends.


End file.
